2of6U.S. President Donald Trump addresses U.S. armed forces members on a Christmas Day video conference call in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. Trump expressed confidence in the Treasury secretary, Federal Reserve and U.S. economy on Tuesday, moving to calm financial markets further roiled after Bloomberg News reported that the president had discussed firing the central banks chairman over raising interest rates. Photographer: Zach Gibson/BloombergPhoto: Zach Gibson / Bloomberg

3of6(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 8, 2017, men work on a construction site in Washington, DC. - Hiring surged in the US in August, and employers increased wages by the most in nearly a decade as the jobs markets showed no sign of slowing, the government reported on September 7, 2018. The unexpected hiring spree, which saw jobs sprout up in construction, transportation, wholesale trade, finance and health care, was a shot in the arm for President Donald Trump. The US economy added 201,000 new jobs, well above analyst expectations, while the unemployment rate held steady at an already-low 3.9 percent and wage gains gained ground on inflation. (Photo by mari matsuri / AFP)MARI MATSURI/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: MARI MATSURI, Contributor / AFP/Getty Images

4of6(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 29, 2018, US President Donald Trump points to the press while walking to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, December 25, 2018 renewed his attack on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, blaming the central bank's interest rate hikes for a tanking market. With stocks on track for their worst December since the Great Depression, Trump has regularly berated the Fed for its stewardship of the economy. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Contributor / AFP/Getty Images

5of6Federal employees, contractors, and supporters rally to demand that President Donald Trump and the Senate reopen the government at a rally outside of the White House after 19 days of a partial shutdown, in Washington, Jan. 10, 2019. The White House doubled its estimate of how much the shutdown is hurting economic growth, and outside economists warned a protracted stalemate could push the U.S. into a contraction. (Leigh Vogel/The New York Times)Photo: LEIGH VOGEL, STR / NYT

6of6(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 19, 2018, US President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a jobs creation pledge event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. - US job creation rocketed higher last month while unemployment rose as more workers were lured back into the workforce, the Labor Department reported on January 4, 2019. Employers added a whopping 312,000 positions for the month, smashing economists' expectations. The while the jobless rate ticked two tenths of a point higher to 3.9 percent and wages rose steadily, up 3.2 percent for the year. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Contributor / AFP/Getty Images

The president’s annual economic report card reveals high scores.

President Donald Trump has completed his second year in office, and 2018 generated rapid growth in gross domestic product, historically low unemployment rates and rising wages. He has delivered on those campaign promises.

When the president took the oath of office, I promised to track several key performance indicators, including GDP growth, stock market indexes, unemployment rates, workforce participation and wage growth. I am also watching manufacturing jobs and unemployment in the heartland, where Trump promised workers special attention.

Love him or hate him, only one of these metrics has fallen in the past two years. And while economists will eternally debate how much credit Trump deserves, he certainly did not tank the economy as many analysts, including myself, warned.

Faster economic growth was always central to Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“I believe it’s time to establish a national goal of reaching 4 percent economic growth,” Trump told The Economic Club of New York. He said his plan to cut taxes and regulations, while boosting employment, would deliver what many economists said was an audacious goal.

The consensus forecast, though, is for the economy to register 3 percent growth for 2018, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, the fastest rate since 2005.

The U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 2000. The rate dropped to 3.7 percent in November, which most economists consider full employment, but it ticked up to 4 percent in December when more people started looking for work.

Higher wages are responsible for getting workers off the sidelines. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wages grew by 3.2 percent in December, the fastest rate since 2009. Wage growth over the past year has exceeded inflation as well.

During the campaign, Trump often disputed top-line unemployment numbers because the percentage of prime-age adults in the civilian workforce was at historic lows. In September 2015, only 80.6 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 were employed or looking for work.

That number hit an eight-year high of 82.3 percent in October, according to the St. Louis Fed. Economists look at 25 to 54-year-olds because their statistics are less likely to be skewed by enrollment in educational institutions, early retirement or disability.

The U.S. added 264,000 manufacturing jobs in 2018, reaching a total of 12.84 million workers, a level last seen 69 years ago. Analysts say Trump’s pressure on international supply chains through tariffs and other means, plus a strong economy, have encouraged companies to expand domestic hiring.

The only black mark for 2018 are the major stock indexes. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 6 percent in value, the worst performance in a decade. Since almost every American’s 401(k) retirement account invests in S&P 500 index funds, the market stung Main Street as well as Wall Street.

The stock market, though, is always volatile and always will be in a capitalist system. And though Trump loved to take credit for stock market highs, the president has little control, and should have no control, over how investors value corporations.

Even Trump acknowledges he has greater responsibilities as he keeps the government shut down over a border wall, a political strategy that will retard economic growth and employment in the first quarter of 2019.

Give Trump credit, though. The economy has performed as he promised.

What the future holds, however, no can know for sure. There are plenty of analysts predicting slower growth at best and a full-blown recession at worst.

The thing about being president is that you can never rest on your laurels. You are only as good as the economy at the moment.

Chris Tomlinson has written commentary on business, energy and economics for the Houston Chronicle since 2014. Before joining the Chronicle, he spent 20 years with The Associated Press reporting on politics, conflicts and economics from more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. He’s also the author of the New York Times bestseller Tomlinson Hill, and he produced the award-winning documentary film by the same name. Both examine the history and consequences of race, politics and economics in Texas.